New York Jets: Chris Herndon arrested for DWI
Yet another player on the New York Jets was involved in a DWI arrest, and this time it’s 2018 fourth round draft pick, tight end Chris Herndon.
The offseason news has been promising for the New York Jets, with the exception of a couple of major incidents involving the police. The first was Robby Anderson, who had charges dropped, and the second was Dylan Donahue who was charged with DWI while driving the wrong way in the Lincoln Tunnel. Now, another member of the Jets, tight end Chris Herndon, has also been arrested for DWI.
The Miami Herald was the first to report the incident.
According to the Miami Herald, the incident occurred on Saturday morning around 4:45 a.m. ET. The other driver’s car was totaled in the wreck and so was a railroad motor car.
"Herndon, 22, was driving a Nissan Armada and hit and totaled a Toyota FJ-40 Land Cruiser owned by Albert Elliott, 76, of Manalapan, New Jersey, at 4:45 a.m. Saturday on West Interstate 80, mile marker 35.4, in Rockaway Township, New Jersey, New Jersey State Police spokesman Jeff Flynn confirmed to the Herald.Herndon also demolished a railroad motorcar and the attached trailer, said a source close to Elliott."
There are no reports on the status of Herndon or the other driver. So, what does that do to his football status? Well, there’s no doubt a suspension is in his future, given he was arrested and taken into police custody. However, what should the Jets do?
Jordan Leggett — who was drafted by the Jets in the 2017 NFL Draft — should become the favorite to start, but he’s coming off an injury. What does seem to make the most sense would be for the Jets to use undrafted free agent signing Dimitri Flowers in a tight end role.
When the Jets signed Flowers as during the UDFA, many thought he’d be challenging Lawrence Thomas for the fullback role. That he might, but he played fullback and tight end in college. So, he could be used as a second tight end in 12 personnel packages so both tight ends can be seen as pass catching threats.
In the interim, though, it doesn’t really leave the Jets with a lot of pass-catchers at the tight end position. There aren’t a lot of pas-catchers available on the open market either. So, the Jets are stuck with what they have.
The Jets may have to get creative with their offensive sets early in the season. That may include using some 22 personnel, which, according to Sharp Football Stats, they only used six percent of the time in 2017.
The Jets have five tight ends on their roster (including Herdon). Only one of the others was considered a true pass-catching threat, Leggett.
In the end, this may hurt one player on the roster the most — Sam Darnold. Not having many pass catching options may derail any chance of him starting Week 1. On the other hand, having a weapon and Swiss Army knife like Flowers may help, because it gives him options both on the line and out of the backfield.
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Herndon is a raw talent who needed a lot of work, and this will only hamper his progress. Only time will tell how the Jets choose to proceed, but, for now, the door seems to be opened for Flowers.